ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s top court is set to hear four cases next week arguing against the legitimacy of the Kurdistan Region parliament’s decision to extend its term by an extra year, with the motions filed by the parliament’s main opposition bloc and former speaker.
Members of the Kurdistan Region parliament in October voted by a majority to extend the current four-year term of the legislature by one year, in a session boycotted by the opposition blocs, deeming the proposed bill “illegal”.
The Iraqi federal Supreme Court will hold the first sessions for four cases on Sunday, filed against Speaker of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament Rewaz Fayaq, requesting the court to deem the parliament’s extension “unconstitutional” and calling for it to be revoked.
The complaints are filed by former Speaker of the Kurdistan Region parliament Yousif Mohammed, head of the New Generation Movement (NGM) Shaswar Abdulwahid, NGM MP in the Iraqi parliament Srwa Abdulwahid, and NGM MP in the Kurdish parliament Kawa Abdulqadir.
Wriya Saadi, Kurdistan Region parliament’s legal advisor, told Rudaw’s Hastyar Qadir that their legal team will present evidence to refute the complaints.
The NGM have repeatedly said that they will boycott the parliamentary sessions going forward in protest of the extension.
A new parliamentary election was set to be held on October 1, but disagreements between the blocs over the current elections law and the electoral commission prevented the process from being conducted on its scheduled time.
Members of the Kurdistan Region parliament in October voted by a majority to extend the current four-year term of the legislature by one year, in a session boycotted by the opposition blocs, deeming the proposed bill “illegal”.
The Iraqi federal Supreme Court will hold the first sessions for four cases on Sunday, filed against Speaker of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament Rewaz Fayaq, requesting the court to deem the parliament’s extension “unconstitutional” and calling for it to be revoked.
The complaints are filed by former Speaker of the Kurdistan Region parliament Yousif Mohammed, head of the New Generation Movement (NGM) Shaswar Abdulwahid, NGM MP in the Iraqi parliament Srwa Abdulwahid, and NGM MP in the Kurdish parliament Kawa Abdulqadir.
Wriya Saadi, Kurdistan Region parliament’s legal advisor, told Rudaw’s Hastyar Qadir that their legal team will present evidence to refute the complaints.
The NGM have repeatedly said that they will boycott the parliamentary sessions going forward in protest of the extension.
A new parliamentary election was set to be held on October 1, but disagreements between the blocs over the current elections law and the electoral commission prevented the process from being conducted on its scheduled time.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment